# Optimization of the UValidate platform to measure genotoxicity associated with current problematic UV chemical blockers

> **NIH NIH R41** · AMELIA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC · 2020 · $195,416

## Abstract

STTR 608040: Optimization of the UValidate platform to measure genotoxicity associated with current problematic UV chemical blockers
Optimization of the UValidate™ platform to measure genotoxicity associated with current problematic
 UV chemical blockers.
Project Summary/ Abstract
 (word count: 375)
Over-the-counter active ingredients that block UVA and UVB are required in all sunscreens, as mandated by the FDA.
Recently the safety of these active ingredients has come under scrutiny both from a human health and ecological
perspective. Yet there is a lack of alternative UV blockers available to manufacturers leaving the public in a precarious
position. The objective of this Phase I STTR is to calibrate a novel UV active ingredient testing platform (termed
UValidate™) in order to test potential UV chemical blockers for the skin care industry. Specifically, these chemical
blockers would be required to reduce or prevent the deleterious effects of UV irradiation in human cells that comprise
the bulk of the epidermis, including fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and melanocytes. Biological endpoints that will be
measured after sunscreen and UV exposure include: DNA damage associated with oxidative stress, direct UV DNA
damage products (CPD/6-4PP), modulation of DNA repair capacity, and mutagenicity. The product would initially
(Phase I) be a comprehensive sunscreen active ingredient testing platform, that in Phase II would be further expanded
to identify new or repurposed UV-protective compounds for downstream clinical evaluation. Technical milestones that
will be completed in Phase I include: 1) Integrating a novel UV DNA damage-detecting protein-probe into the
CometChip methodology, 2) Configuring UVR micro-LED technology to provide a novel UV irradiation source
adaptable to screening platforms. 3) Developing a data pipeline that is able to autonomously take the large amounts
of information accumulated by the UValidate system and transform the data into a compound-specific predictive result.
UValidate is designed to complement rather than replace current sunscreen testing regimes by measuring biological
endpoints not evaluated by classical UV absorption measurements. Once we have calibrated UValidate by
comprehensively investigating the current OTC UV chemical blockers, we will use data-driven learning protocols to
develop a system that can make predictive results about new compounds (Phase II) and in the future be expanded to
test the combinatory effects of other agents with sunscreen active ingredients, focusing specifically on insect
repellents, moisturizers and environmental pollutants. The impact of the platform will be immediate, with data from the
current UV chemical blockers becoming part of the non-clinical assessment that will be used by the FDA to assess
the future of the compounds in the marketplace.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10008257
- **Project number:** 1R41ES032435-01
- **Recipient organization:** AMELIA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** DEAN ROSENTHAL
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $195,416
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10008257

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10008257, Optimization of the UValidate platform to measure genotoxicity associated with current problematic UV chemical blockers (1R41ES032435-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10008257. Licensed CC0.

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